Fort Hays State University FHSU Scholars Repository Masters Theses Graduate School Spring 2012 Relationship Between Cultural Intelligence And Leadership Lu Yang Fort Hays State University Follow this and additional works at: http://scholars.fhsu.edu/theses Part of the Political Science Commons Recommended Citation Yang, Lu, "Relationship Between Cultural Intelligence And Leadership" (2012). Masters Theses. 134. http://scholars.fhsu.edu/theses/134 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at FHSU Scholars Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Masters Theses by an authorized administrator of FHSU Scholars Repository.
RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CULTURAL INTELLIGENCE AND LEADERSHIP being A Thesis Presented to the Graduate Faculty of the Fort Hays State University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Liberal Studies by Lu Yang B.G.S., Fort Hays State University Date Approved Major Professor Approved Chair, Graduate Council
ABSTRACT The study investigates the prediction that the higher cultural intelligence competencies, the more effective leadership. Multiple regression analysis of data from 14 managers in the United States and 71 managers in China report several relationships between the cultural intelligence competencies and effective leadership. The study focused on the relationships of each dimension of the Cultural Intelligence Scale (CQS), Metacognitive (ME), Cognitive (C), Motivational (MO) and Behavioral (B), to each dimension of the Leadership Behavior Inventory: Visualizing Greatness (VG), Empowering the We (WE), Communicating for Meaning (CM), Managing Oneself (MOS), and Care and Recognition (CR). Analysis indicated that there are significant relationships between the cultural intelligence of leaders and effective leadership in China. However, analysis indicated that there are not significant relationships between the cultural intelligence of leaders and effective leadership in the United States. i
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This thesis was made possible through the help, advice and support of many individuals. Very special thanks to Dr. Brent J. Goertzen, my advisor, who had the expertise to guide me through many difficult situations and provided extensive assistance. Thanks to my graduate committee members, Dr. Josephine E. Squires, and Dr. Curt Brungardt, for reviewing my thesis and making recommendations. In addition, thanks to the executive director of the Hays Area Chamber of Commerce, Tammy Wellbrock, and the executive director of Zhengzhou Small Business Administration, Huchen Yang, for helping with my survey. All of you have made studying here an enjoyable experience. Thank you for all of your kindness. Also, thanks to my parents for always being there for me. You will never know how much I appreciate your love and support. ii
TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ABSTRACT...i ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ii TABLE OF CONTENTS...iii LIST OF TABLES...vii LIST OF APPENDICES...viii CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1 Purpose.1 Hypothesis 1 The probable benefits from the research..1 CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW.3 Global Competencies...3 Multicultural Training..3 Global Mindset.5 Cross-cultural Competence.. 6 Intercultural Sensitivity....6 Cultural Intelligence.7 Cultural Intelligence Dimensions in Questionnaire of the Study.8 Metacognitive (ME)..9 Cognitive (C) 9 Motivational (MO).10 iii
Behavioral (B)...10 Leadership..11 Leadership Definition. 11 Components of Effective Leadership.12 Effective Leadership Behaviors. 14 Sources of Leader Behaviors.. 15 Visualizing Greatness....16 Empowering the WE...........16 Communicating for Meaning...16 Managing Oneself...16 Care and Recognition...17 Dimensions of the Leadership Behavior Inventory.... 17 Visualising Greatness (VG)....17 Empowering the WE (WE). 18 Communicating for Meaning (CM)....18 Managing Oneself (MOS)..19 Care and Recognition (CR)...19 Hypothesis...20 CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY....21 Participants.21 Questionnaire.. 22 Cultural Intelligence Scale (CQS).. 22 iv
Leadership Behavioral Inventory... 23 Demographic Information.. 24 Procedure Used to Administer the Survey...24 CHAPTER 4: RESULTS... 27 Samples..27 Measurement of Variables.. 28 Cultural Intelligence Scale (CQS).. 28 Behavioral Leadership Inventory...29 The United States Sample...29 The Chinese Sample... 30 Regression Results of the U.S. Sample.. 33 Metacognitive (ME) to Dimensions of Leadership Behavioral Inventory.33 Cognitive (C) to Dimensions of Leadership Behavioral Inventory 35 Motivational (MO) to Dimensions of Leadership Behavioral Inventory...37 Behavioral (B) to Dimensions of Leadership Behavioral Inventory..39 Regression Results of the Chinese Sample 41 Metacognitive (ME) to Dimensions of Leadership Behavioral Inventory.41 Cognitive (C) to Dimensions of Leadership Behavioral Inventory...43 Motivational (MO) to Dimensions of Leadership Behavioral Inventory...45 Behavioral (B) to Dimensions of Leadership Behavioral Inventory..47 CHAPTER 5: DISCUSSION. 49 Limitations...51 v
Implications for Research...52 REFERENCES...54 vi
LIST OF TABLES Table Page 1. Means, Standard Deviations, Internal Consistencies, and Correlations for the U.S. sample...31 2. Means, Standard Deviations, Internal Consistencies, and Correlations for the Chinese sample...32 3. The U.S. Sample: Regression Results on Metacognitive (ME) to the Leadership Behavioral Inventory 34 4. The U.S. Sample: Regression Results on Cognitive (C) to the Leadership Behavioral Inventory.. 36 5. The U.S. Sample: Regression Results on Motivational (MO) to the Leadership Behavioral Inventory 38 6. The U.S. Sample: Regression Results on Behavioral (B) to the Leadership Behavioral Inventory..40 7. The Chinese Sample: Regression Results on Metacognitive (ME) to the Leadership Behavioral Inventory 42 8. The Chinese Sample: Regression Results on Cognitive (C) to the Leadership Behavioral Inventory 44 9. The Chinese Sample: Regression Results on Motivational (MO) to the Leadership Behavioral Inventory 46 10. The Chinese Sample: Regression Results on Behavioral (B) to the Leadership Behavioral Inventory 48 vii
LIST OF APPENDICES Appendix Page A. English Version of the Questionnaire.....60 B. Chinese Version of Questionnaire.... 64 C. Permission for the Cultural Intelligence Scale (CQS).. 68 D. Permission for the Leadership Behavior Inventory Questionnaire... 70 E. The First E-mail...72 F. The Second E-mail...73 G. The Third E-mail...74 H. The Fourth E-mail...75 viii
1 CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION Since the world moved into the 21th century, exchanges and cooperation among different countries or cultures has become more frequent. More and more managers in organizations and companies do business with foreign clients who have different cultural backgrounds and habits; address problems with customers of different backgrounds; or should know how to manage diversity of employees in organizations and companies. Therefore, cultural intelligence competencies have become more important qualities for leaders and managers than ever before. Purpose: The purpose of this research is to investigate the relationship between cultural intelligence competencies and effective leadership. Therefore, the sample of this study is focused on two groups of managers with different cultural backgrounds the United States and China. Hypothesis: H1: There will be a positive relationship between cultural intelligence competencies and effective leadership. The probable benefits from the research: 1) The results of this research show the relationship between cultural intelligence competencies and effective leadership. This can guide the leaders and managers on how to improve their effective leadership skills in the future. 2) The results of this research can also help leaders and managers in organizations to design and plan more effective cultural training for employees and employers.
2 3) The results of this research are useful for other researchers to investigate some relative projects in the future.
3 CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW Global Competencies Globalization has already become an important trend in the world. Every country s economy, religion, culture and some other factors have mixed together more so than in the past. The United Nations (2002) has written that globalization is a widely-used term that can be defined in a number of different ways. When used in an economic context, it refers to the reduction and removal of barriers between national borders in order to facilitate the flow of goods, capital, labor, and services (United Nations, 2002). Globalization now brings more international business to organizations in the current global business market. This means current organizations and workers in these organizations will likely face increased cross-cultural contact when they conduct international business. Currently, the World Trade Organization (WTO) has 150 members, including China, the United States, Ireland, France, and New Zealand. In addition, the World Trade Organization (WTO) collectively accounts for more than 97 percent of world trade (Daniels, Radebaugh & Sullivan, 2008).Therefore, the trend of globalization brings a new requirement to managers in organizations in order to adopt a global economic market. The new requirement is that managers in current organizations should have global competencies. Multicultural Training Multicultural training is also referred to as cross-cultural training. The idea of multicultural and cross-cultural training first appeared 30 years ago, but has attracted the increased attention of managers of organizations in recent years (Lang, 2004). According
to the 2001 Global Relocation Trends Survey, there are 69 percent of the 150 companies that responded offered cultural training for their outbound employees, up 10 percent in one year and almost 50 percent in 20 years (Lang, 2004, p.1). In the past decade, there are so many researchers have given cross-cultural training a comprehensive definition. In Littrell, Salas, Hess, Paley and Riedel s article (2006), multi-/cross-cultural training is defined as the educative processes used to improve intercultural learning via the development of the cognitive, affective, and behavioral competencies needed for successful interactions in diverse cultures (p.358). Multi-/Cross-cultural training is important to organizations, especially in today s globalized world. Multi-/cross-cultural training focuses on improving leaders and employees cultural awareness through educative methods. Organizations want their employees to have a stronger ability to deal with many cultural problems, such as cultural cooperation, diverse workforce, or overseas business, in order to gain more success in the international business markets (Littrell, Salas, Hess, Paley & Riedel, 2006). There are two main approaches used in designing multi-/cross-cultural training didactic (information-giving) and experiential learning activities (Littrell & Salas, 2005). Didactic or information-giving training focuses on informing employees about different countries travel arrangements, job characteristics, shopping behaviors, and political, economic, and cultural conditions. The purpose of the didactic or information-giving training is to help employees in foreign countries live as they do in the host countries (Littrell & Salas, 2005). Secondly, the experiential training focuses on developing employees skills in making decisions in alternative situations and dealing with some unexpected problems in 4
5 different cultural countries or working environments in order to give benefits to the host organizations (Littrell & Salas, 2005). Bucker and Poutsma (2009) divided global competencies of today s managers into four parts global mindset, cross-cultural competencies, intercultural sensitivity and cultural intelligence. These are generally related concepts of cultural competence and there are many ways by which the notion of cultural competence has been defined. Global Mindset Dr. Carol Dweck (2006), the author of Mindset: the New Psychology of Success, summarized two kinds of mindsets to explain the reason for the difference. The two kinds of mindsets are growth mindset and fixed mindset. If people have the growth mindset, they believe that their basic abilities or talents can be developed by learning and hard work. On the other hand, the fixed mindset people believe that everyone s intelligence and talent is fixed and is the only factor in determining if a person can be a leader or not. In addition, Dweck (2006) indicated that high performance people have had the growth mindset in different fields, such as business, education, and sports. Growth mindset is one of the essential qualities of a good leader. However, the era of globalization requires a new mindset of leaders the global mindset. It is not easy to summarize the definition of the global mindset. Bowen and Inkpen (2009) reviewed many articles on the concept of global mindset. They interviewed 30 professors of the Thunderbird School of Business, 206 alumni around the world, and 17 senior global managers in Europe, Asia, and the United States with the open-ended question What is a global mindset?. Bowen and Inkpen (2009) concluded that global
6 mindset is thecapability to influence individuals, groups, and organizations from different sociocultural systems and are comprised of intellectual, social, and psychological capital (Beechler & Javidan, 2007, p.131-150). Cross-cultural competence Lynch & Hanson (1993) defined cross-cultural competence as theability to think, feel, and act in ways that acknowledge, respect, and build upon ethnic, socio-cultural, and linguistic diversity (p. 50). In the current business world, the higher level of cross-cultural competence managers have, the better performances business managers can achieve when they are doing business with customers of different cultures. Hajro and Pudelko (2010) summarized several important competencies of culturally competent leaders after interviewing 70 leaders of multinational organizations. They found that cross-cultural competence can be the second most important factor for leaders (the most important factor is the knowledge of management). Leaders and members of multinational organizations believe that cross-cultural competence can help multinational team (MNT) leaders to build better social relationships with their employees in order to improve the multinational organizations performances (Hajro & Pudelko, 2010). Intercultural Sensitivity Bucker and Poutsma (2008) describe intercultural sensitivity as focusing on the ability to understand cultural differences and the ability to react in different cultural environments. Based on the work of Milton Bennett (1993), intercultural sensitivity can be defined as six stages. The first stage is called denial. In the denial stage, people do not think cultures are different. People believe there is only one culture around the world that
7 is their own culture. The second stage is defense. In the defense stage of intercultural sensitivity, people find there are differences among cultures, but still do not think other cultures are right. The third stage is called minimization. In the minimization stage, people basically accept the differences of some parts of other cultures. Meanwhile, people still consider that everyone is the same. The fourth stage is called acceptance. In the acceptance stage, people completely accept that cultures are different. The fifth stage is adaptation. In the adaptation stage of intercultural sensitivity, people not only accept the differences of cultures, but also try to adapt to these differences. The last stage is integration. In the integration stage, people adapt to the cultural integration trend around the world. Today s globalized business market requires managers of organizations to have a higher level of intercultural sensitivity to adapt to more and more international business. Cultural Intelligence A growing number of organizations of the 21 st century have become multinational. Multinational organizations in the current global market will likely face differences in language, religion, politics, or business habits. Therefore, the importance of cultural intelligence has called a lot of attention to managers in organizations and researchers in today s globalized business world. Cultural intelligence is defined as a multifaceted competency consisting of cultural knowledge, the practice of mindfulness, and the repertoire of behavioral skills (Thomas & Inkson, 2004, p. 182-183).Based on the Census 2000 Brief (2000) records, 12.3 percent of the total United States population are Black or African American; 3.6 percent are Asian; 5.5 percent are other ethnic groups; and 2.4 percent of total population have two or more ethnic groups. In addition, the U.S.
Census Bureau believes that other ethnic population percentages will keep increasing year by year. The current study includes the two most important parts cultural intelligence and leadership. Understanding the importance of cultural intelligence is important to this study. After receiving 420 responses from 99 leaders and 321 followers, Groves and Feyerherm (2011) found several important factors of cultural intelligence for leaders and organizations. First, leaders who have greater cultural intelligence can gain higher leader performance in multinational organizations. Second, leaders who have greater cultural intelligence can help organizations and teams improve the team s performance (Groves & Feyerherm, 2011). Therefore, cultural intelligence is not only important to leader performance, but also important to the organization s performance. Cultural Intelligence Dimensions in Questionnaire of the Study The questionnaire of the current study includes two parts the Cultural Intelligence Scale (CQS) and the Leadership Behavior Inventory. (The Leadership Behavior Inventory will be introduced at the end of effective leadership section in literature review). The Cultural Intelligence Scale (CQS) was designed by Ang, Dyne, Koh, Yee Ng, Templer, Tay and Chandrasekar in 2007. They used the Cultural Intelligence Scale (CQS) in an article entitled Cultural Intelligence: Its Measurement and Effects on Cultural Judgment and Decision Making, Cultural Adaptation and Task Performance. The Cultural Intelligence Scale (CQS) includes four dimensions with a total of 20 items. The four dimensions are Metacognitive (ME), Cognitive (C), Motivational (MO), and Behavioral (B). 8
9 Metacognitive (ME) Four items in the Metacognitive (ME) dimension focus on investigating the cultural awareness of individuals in mental intelligence. For example, I am conscious of the cultural knowledge I use when interacting with people with different cultural backgrounds (Ang, et al., 2007). Ang, and colleagues (2007) believed that metacognitive (ME) is the higher-order mental capability to think about personal thought processes, anticipate cultural preferences of others and adjust mental models during and after intercultural experiences (p.341). In addition, Moon (2010) defined that metacognitive (ME) reflects higher level cognitive processes (think over think) that enable individuals to promote new heuristics and rules for cross-cultural interactions and to adjust their mental maps (p.463). Therefore, it is meaningful to use metacognitive (ME) as one of the factors for learning an individual s mental capability of cultural intelligence. Cognitive (C) Six items in the Cognitive (C) dimension are focused on investigating an individual s awareness for other cultures in social life. For example, I know the legal and economic systems of other cultures. Ang and colleagues (2007) believed that cognitive CQ reflects knowledge of the norms, practices and conventions in different cultures acquired from education and personal experiences (p.338). The cognitive facet of cultural intelligence has a strong relationship with individual learning processes of intelligence in a diverse cultural environment (Moon, 2010). The Cognitive CQ dimension of cultural intelligence can help researchers to understand an individual s personal leaning capabilities, especially cross-cultural learning capabilities. Therefore, the cognitive
10 dimension also is one of the important factors for understanding cultural intelligence. Motivational (MO) Five items of the Motivational (MO) dimension are focused on investigating an individual s personal motivation learning about for other cultures. For example, I enjoy interacting with people from different cultures. Ang and colleagues (2007) believed that motivational reflects the capability to direct attention and energy toward learning about and functioning in situations characterized by cultural differences (p.338). Templer, Tay, and Chandrasekar (2006) defined the motivational as individual s intrinsic motivation and specific self-efficacy to engage in cross-cultural experiences and master its nuances (p.4). Therefore, the motivational can help researchers to understand an individual s personal desire for cultural intelligence in culturally diverse situations. Behavioral (B) Five items of the Behavioral (B) dimension are focused on investigating an individual s behaviors when facing other cultures. For example, I use pause and silence differently to suit different cross-cultural situations (Ang et al., 2007). Ang and colleagues (2007) summarized behavioral reflects the capability to exhibit appropriate verbal and non-verbal actions when interacting with people from different cultures (p.338). It is important to understand an individual s behavioral habits for individual in culturally diverse environments. There are three substantive findings from the Cultural Intelligence Scale (CQS) (Ang et al., 2007). First, there are positive relationships between Metacognitive (ME) and Cultural Judgment and Decision Making (CJDM) effectiveness, Cognitive (C) and CJDM
11 effectiveness. Second, Motivational (MO) and Behavioral (B) also have positive relationships with cultural adjustment and well-being. Third, only Metacognitive (ME) and Behavioral (B) can predict task performance, not all four dimensions. Leadership Leadership Definition Leadership is a popular and important social phenomenon that has called the attention of all businessmen and researchers worldwide. Numerous researches have summarized different definitions of leadership. Early on, Mumford (1909) defined that leadership is the preeminence of one or a few individuals in a group in the process of control of societal phenomena (p.12). Knickerbocker (1948) said, Leadership is a function of needs existing within a given situation, and consists of a relationship between an individual and a group (p.23). Janda (1960) summarized that leadership as a particular type of power relationship characterized by a group member s perception that another group member has the right to prescribe behavior patterns for the former regarding his activity as a member of a particular group (p.355). Along with the development of times and the progress of the society, the definition of leadership in recent time has changed a bit. Howell and Costley (2001) defined leadership as a process used by an individual to influence group members toward the achievement of group goals, where the group members view the influence as legitimate (p.33). Based on many concepts of leadership, we can summarize four central phenomenon of leadership. First, leadership cannot be achieved or gained at once; it is a process. Second, influence is an important factor in the leadership process. Third, in the leadership process, no matter
12 leaders or followers should have common goals throughout the process. Fourth, leadership cannot occur in one or two persons, it should occur in groups or organizations (Northouse, 2010). As mentioned earlier, the most important purpose of this research was finding the relationship between cultural intelligence and effective leadership through surveying our participating managers. Therefore, understanding the knowledge of effective leadership is important to us. Components of Effective Leadership Anderson, Krajewski, Goffin and Jackson (2008) summarized nine major components of effective leadership in a study. The first component of effective leadership is relational leadership. Anderson et al., (2008) considered that leaders displaying relational leadership effectiveness were mainly focused on how to build a good interpersonal relationship with co-workers or subordinates. The second component of effective leadership is impartial leadership. Leaders who have high levels of impartial leadership effectiveness made decisions without personal bias, and were willing to listen to others opinions. Anderson et al., (2008) summarized the impartial leadership effectiveness regarded as being even-tempered and even-handed (p.602). The third component is technical leadership. Anderson et al., (2008) summarized the leaders who have technical leadership effectiveness were displayed as well informed, business savvy, and skilled in their professions or areas of expertise (p.602).
13 The fourth component of effective leadership is creative leadership. Leaders who display creativity are willing to find new ways when doing business or managing organizations. The fifth component of effective leadership is directive leadership. Anderson et al., (2008) summarized the leaders who display high level of directive leadership effectiveness were characterized by an emphasis on planning, execution, and evaluation of work behavior in their relationship with subordinates (p.602). The sixth component of effective leadership is tenacious leadership. Anderson et al., (2008) mentioned that a tenacious leader displayed physical and mental fortitude on the job; put the larger interests of the organization ahead of personal needs; showed effort in the face of adversity (p.602). The seventh component of effective leadership is empowering leadership. Leaders who display the empowering leadership effectiveness let people work in their well suited positions. The eighth component of effective leadership is influential leadership. Anderson et al., (2008) mentioned that leaders who displayed a high level of influential leadership effectiveness were persuasive, self-assured, and polished; spoke fluently and articulately; created a positive first impression through demeanor and appearance; and demonstrated a personal confidence in business matters (p.602). The ninth component of effective leadership is strategic leadership. Anderson et al., (2008) summarized the strategic leadership effectiveness as thought about, forecast, and prepared for future business developments; understood the evolving nature of business
markets; and acted to change cultural norms and values for the purpose of organizational realignment (p.602). Effective Leadership Behaviors Howell and Costley (2001) believed that almost all current leadership experts agree that effective leadership behavior depends on situational and follower characteristics (p.86). That is to say the behavior of effective leadership does not have a universal standard. The behavior of effective leadership may be different in different situations. Therefore, an effective leader should know when to use which appropriate leadership behavior model in which situation. Howell and Costley (2001) summarized five core patterns of effective leadership behaviors. The first pattern of effective leadership behaviors is supportive leadership behaviors (Howell & Costley, 2001). Leaders play supportive roles in making followers feel strongly satisfied with jobs, organizational goals, and leadership styles of leaders. Howell and Costley (2001) pointed out that supportive leaders should pay more attention to how to improve their communication skills. The second pattern of effective leadership behaviors is directive leadership behavior (Howell & Costley, 2001). Leaders who have directive leadership behavior patterns love doing everything for followers. This style leaders willing to help followers to set goals, help and coordinate followers to make good plans for work, let followers know the expectations of performance, and specify teams rules and procedures (Howell & Costley, 2001). The third pattern of effective leadership behaviors is participative leadership 14
behavior. Leaders who use participative leadership behavior allow followers participate into the decision-making process. The final decisions of organizations will contain followers opinions (Howell & Costley, 2001). The fourth pattern of effective leadership behaviors is leader reward and punishment behavior. Leaders reward followers when followers provide benefits to organizations. On the other hand, when followers make some mistakes, leaders will give them corresponding punishment. Moreover, Howell and Costley (2001) believed that rewards and punishments based on performance are usually the most effective (p. 89). The fifth pattern is charismatic leadership behavior. Leaders who use charismatic leadership behavior patterns usually play roles such as ideals, idols, or heroes in front of followers. These kinds of leaders often draw a vision of the future for followers based on their strong self-confidence (Howell & Costley, 2001). Sources of Leaders Behaviors In this study, visualising greatness, empowering the WE, communicating for meaning, managing oneself, and care and recognition were used as five important categories of leader behaviors. Quesdada, Gonzalez, and Kent (2008) developed a scale intended to measure the five categories of leaders behaviors. Visualising Greatness A leader who has Visualizing Greatness performs with a clear vision to formulate future goals of teams or organizations, and make plans for achieving these goals (Quesdad et al., 2008). The category of Visualizing Greatness is similar to Ilies, Judge, and Wagner s (2006) vision and goals. Ilies, Judge, and Wagner (2006) believed that 15
16 visions provide followers with a cognitive road map that structures their activities; this cognitive road map leads to the setting of challenging goals (p.11). Empowering the WE Empowering the WE refers to strengthening, and identifying with, a unit (such as a team or an organization) (Quesdad et al., 2008, p. 679). Raub and Robert (2010) conducted research on the effects of empowering leadership behaviors (ELBs) on in-role and extra-role employee behaviors. They found that there are direct and mediated effects of empowering leadership behaviors (ELBs) on employee behaviors, and moderated mediation involving psychological empowerment and power values such that psychological empowerment was more strongly related to challenging behaviors for individuals low in power values (Raub & Robert, 2010, p. 1744). Communicating for Meaning Communicating for Meaning refers to deep level transactions between employees or followers and leaders (Quesdad et al., 2008). For example, leaders give written materials and documents to followers when they need to do work, or leaders motivate and inspire followers work by using influence techniques (Quesdad et al., 2008, p. 680). The Communicating for Meaning is similar to Ziegler and DeGrosky s (2008) Communicate Intent. Managing Oneself Managing Oneself refers to the leader s skill at self-direction and self-control (Quesada et al., 2008, p.680). Leaders are the center of followers and organizations. Leaders should be models for followers. Managing Oneself is similar to the
17 self-managing and self-management of Kendall et al. (2010). Care and Recognition Leaders who have the Care and Recognition of leadership behaviors pay more attention to followers needs and wants, encourage followers work, and give more support to followers ((Quesada, Gonzalez & Kent, 2008). For example, followers work is achieved through setting goals of organizations. The Care and Recognition leaders will give rewards to followers and hold parties to celebrate the achievements. Therefore, it is very necessary to select these five categories of leader behaviors used in this study. Dimensions of the Leadership Behavior Inventory Besides the Cultural Intelligence Scale (CQS), the study includes the Leadership Behavior Inventory which was designed by Quesdada, Gonzalez, and Kent (2008). This Leadership Behavior Inventory was used in the literature A Road for Achieving an International Measure and Understanding on Leaders Behaviors (Quesada, Gonzalez & Kent, 2008). The Leadership Behavior Inventory includes five dimensions Visualising Greatness (VG), Empowering the We (WE), Communicating for Meaning (CM), Managing Oneself (MOS), and Care and Recognition (CR). Visualising Greatness (VG) Six items of Visualising Greatness (VG) are focusing on investigating individual s inspiring vision. For example, has visions and dreams of what can be. In general, visualizing greatness involves behaviors related to creating and communicating an
18 inspiring vision (Rudd, Kent & Blair, 2009, p.119). According to the Encyclopedia of Public Administration and Public Policy, visualizing greatness is defined as an important process of leading (Rabin, 2003). Leaders must have clear images about the future of organizations in order to lead organizations and subordinates to develop better. Empowering the WE (WE) Eight items of Empowering the We (WE) dimension focus on investigating individual s beliefs of empowerment. For example, gets people in involved in decisions that affect. Konczak, Stelly and Trusty (2000) summarized three main dimensions of empowering leadership behavior which are important to organizations. The first dimension of empowering leadership behavior is delegation of authority (Konczak et al., 2000, p.303). The second dimension of empowering leadership behavior is the accountability for outcomes of leaders emphasis (Konczak et al., 2000, p.303). The third dimension of the empowering dimension of empowering leadership behavior is the coaching for innovative performance. Konczak et al. (2000) considered that empowering leaders should encourage calculated risk taking and new ideas, provide performance feedback, and treat mistakes and setbacks as opportunities to learn (p.303). Communicating for Meaning (CM) Six items of the Communicating for Meaning (CM) dimension are focused on investigating individual s abilities about communication. For example, communicates in ways that inspire and motivate others. Communicating for meaning is related to leaders communicating styles. In general, it involves items that reflect on the leader's ability to relate their ideas to others, to take the time necessary to communicate the underlying
meaning and importance of the message and to discuss the ideas at a deeper level such as at the level of values, beliefs, and principles (Kent, 2007, p.334). Managing Oneself (MOS) Four items of the Managing Oneself (MOS) dimension are focused on investigating an individual s personal management skills. For example, has a sense of self-determination and self-confidence. In general, managing oneself means self-leadership. It describes the behaviors that result from the leader s conscious management of their state of being (Rabin, 2003, p.121). It is an important process of leading. Care and Recognition (CR) Four items of the Care and Recognition (CR) dimension are focused on investigating individual s attitudes about others efforts. For example, celebrates victories (Quesada et al., 2008). Care and recognition is related to the sense of concern and caring that comes from the leader through the attention she or he places on the team and individuals' successes and victories (Kent, 2007, p.334). Kent (2007) points out letting individuals and the world know that we have succeeded (p.335) is very important to leadership, and therefore he indicates care and recognition is an important component of leading. Authors, Quesdada, Gonzalez, and Kent, took research in three countries Costa Rica, USA, and Spain regarding the Leadership Behavior Inventory. Based on their research, they found that the dimension of Managing Oneself (MOS) is not necessary in Spanish leadership, and US leaders prefer individual leadership more than Costa Rican and Spanish leaders. (Quesada et al., 2008) 19
20 Hypothesis In this study, we predicted that there is a positive relationship between cultural intelligence competencies and effective leadership behaviors. As mentioned at the beginning of the literature review section, globalization is an unstopped trend to the world. Cultural intelligence competencies had already became very important abilities of leaders. Though, there are many factors that can determine the leadership behavior effectiveness. Cultural intelligence may likely be one of the determining factors of leadership behavior effectiveness. Therefore, we expect to see a positive relationship between cultural intelligence and leadership behaviors.
21 CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY Participants: The sample of this research program consisted of two sample groups. The one group comes from the People s Republic of China, the other from the United States. Participants of the survey samples are managers or leaders from all trades and professions. In the United States, all 65 managers were chosen from organizations or companies in Hays, Kansas, which was based on the database of Hays Area Chamber of Commerce. The executive director of Hays Area Chamber of Commerce, Tammy Wellbrock, helped us contact participating managers because their contact information is private. Hays Area Chamber of Commerce has no right to reveal managers personal contact information to others. In the survey process, Tammy Wellbrock received every contact e-mail first. Then, she forwarded every e-mail to participating managers. In the People s Republic of China, all 100 managers sampled were chosen from Zhengzhou, in Henan Province. The sample was based on the database of the Zhengzhou Small Business Administration. The procedures to recruit managers in the Chinese sample were the same as for the United States sample. As in the American sample, the contact information of sampled managers in China also is private to other people. Therefore, the executive director of Zhengzhou Small Business Administration, Huchen Yang, helped us contact every sample manager. He received the contact e-mails first, and forwarded the e-mails to every manager. As the official language in China is Mandarin Chinese, translation of the questionnaire was carried out by the author. In order to reduce bias or misunderstanding, the questionnaire, which was used in the Chinese sample, was
22 translated into Mandarin form. The meaning and number of each question in the Mandarin form questionnaire was absolutely the same with the English form questionnaire. A native professor from China reviewed the translation of the questionnaire. Questionnaires: The survey questionnaire consisted of three major sections the cultural intelligence section, the leadership behavioral section, and the demographic information section. The Cultural intelligence Scale (CQS) questionnaire by Ang, Dyne, Koh, Templer, Tay, and Chandrasekar (2007), and Leadership Behavioral Inventory questionnaire by Kent, Quesada, and Gonzalez (2008) were used in this survey. All questions were designed using a Likert-type scale. Appendix A is the English version questionnaire. Appendix B is the Chinese version questionnaire. One of the authors, Linn Van Dyne, gave permission to use the survey questionnaire of CQS in this study (see Appendix C). The author, Thomas W. Kent granted permission to use the survey in this study (see Appendix D). Cultural Intelligence Scale (CQS) There are twenty items in the Cultural Intelligence Scale (CQS) questionnaire. The sample participants in this research were asked to describe their cultural intelligence knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors by using a 1 to 7 point Likert-type scale with: 1 representing strongly disagree and 7 representing strongly agree. These twenty items in the CQS were divided into four major parts Metacognitive CQ, Cognitive CQ, Motivational CQ and Behavioral CQ. Questions 1 to 4 measured Metacognitive CQ. For example, I am conscious of the cultural knowledge I use when
23 interacting with people with different cultural backgrounds is one question of Metacognitive CQ. Questions 5 to 10 measured Cognitive CQ. For example, I know the legal and economic systems of other cultures is one sample question of Cognitive CQ. Questions 11 to 15 measured the Motivational CQ. For example, I enjoy interacting with people from different cultures is one sample question of Motivational CQ. Questions 16 to 20 measured the Behavioral CQ. For example, I vary the rate of my speaking when a cross-cultural situation requires it is one sample question of Behavioral CQ. Leadership Behavioral Inventory The original Leadership Behavioral Inventory questionnaire was designed by Thomas et al. (2008), stands on followers positions to describe their leaders behaviors. In this research, the original Leadership Behavioral Inventory questionnaire was changed to stand on leaders positions to describe their own behaviors. There were twenty-nine items in the Leadership Behavioral Inventory questionnaire. Participants were asked to describe their behaviors in Visualising Greatness (VG), Empowering the we (WE), Communicating for Meaning (CM), Managing Oneself (MOS), and Care and Recognition (CR). All twenty-nine items were using 1 to 8 point Likert-type scale form. 1 representing Rarely, and 8 representing Very Often. All questions start with I would describe myself as a Leader as one who: Questions 21 to 26 measured the Visualising Greatness (VG). The sample question of VG dimension is Has visions and dreams of what can be. Questions 27 to 34 measured the Empowering the we (WE). The sample question of WE dimension is
24 Gets people involved in decisions that affect. Questions 35 to 40 measured the Communicating for Meaning (CM). The sample question of CM dimension is Talks about the principles or values behind decisions that are made. Questions 41 to 45 measure the Managing Oneself (MOS). The sample question of MOS dimension is Has a sense of self-determination and self-confidence. Questions 46 to 49 measure the Care and Recognition (CR). The sample question of CR dimension is Celebrates team accomplishments regularly. Demographic information In this section, there were five questions. Survey participants were asked to provide general information such as gender, age, education level, tenure at current organization, and tenure at current position/job. These questions are voluntary to answer, except gender. Procedure Used to Administer the Survey: Both questionnaires, the English form and Chinese form, were posted on the online survey system of Fort Hays State University. Every participant finished the questionnaire and submitted it online. All responses were saved by the online survey system of Fort Hays State University. All data was collected during the Fall of 2011. All participating managers, no matter in China or the United States, were voluntary and respondents took the survey anonymously. IRB of Fort Hays State University approved the questionnaires before the process of data collecting. For receiving more effective response rates of the survey, I decided to use the Multiple Contacts method, which is based on Dillman s (2007) methodology. Every participating manager received four e-mails during the whole research process.
25 Step 1: The first contact e-mail was a notification or introductory letter. It described the purpose of the survey and participants knew the request of the survey project. It also explained to survey participants why this research is important (see Appendix E). Step 2: The second contact e-mail was sent out about seven days after the first contact e-mail. In the second e-mail, it repeated the survey request and explained in more detail about the usefulness of the survey. In addition, participants knew why they were selected to do the survey and were thanked in the second contact e-mail (see Appendix F). Step 3: The third contact e-mail was sent out about 7-10 days after the second contact. The third contact e-mail was a thank you or reminder letter. This was for recalling participating managers memory about the survey. The third contact letter expressed thanks to participants if they had completed the questionnaire. Otherwise, if participants did not finish the questionnaire or forgot it, the third contact e-mail helped participants find the link and complete the questionnaire (see Appendix G). Step 4: The fourth contact e-mail was the final one. It was sent out between 1-2 weeks after the third contact. The fourth contact e-mail summarized the three e-mail letters that were sent before. It was work for helping managers to recall their memories about the survey requests. Participants were also asked to complete the questionnaire in the final contact letter. In addition, confidentiality of the survey and participants responses were also
26 pointed out clearly in the final contact e-mail. At the end of the fourth letter, the participants were thanked for their help (see Appendix H).
27 CHAPTER 4: RESULTS Samples: In the American sample, 25% participants (n=14) completed the questionnaire. One participant indicated choosing not to participate in the survey. There were 57.1% (n= 8) of the participants were women and 35.7% (n=5) were men, while 7.1% (n=1) of the participants did not report their gender. On average, the participating managers were 46.92 years old (range=27-66, SD=11.61). The American sample included two education levels of participants: 64.3% (n=9) participants had a bachelor s degree (e.g., BA, BS); 21.4% (n=3) participants had a master s degree (e.g., MA, MS, MBA), and 14.3% (n=2) participants did not report their education level. The questionnaire also collected data regarding tenure at current organization and tenure at the current position/job of all participants. In the American sample, the minimum tenure at current organization was one year, and the maximum was 26 years. On average, the tenure at the current organization was 9.53 years (SD=7.07). The minimum tenure at the current position/job was one year, and the maximum was 16 years, one participant did not answer this question. On average, the tenure at current their position/job was 6.83 years (SD=5.27). In the Chinese sample, 71% participants (n=71) completed the questionnaire. Three participants mentioned that they did not want to participate in the survey. There were 51.4% (n=36) of the participants were women; 45.7% (n=32) of participants were men; and 2.9% (n=3) of the participants did not report their gender. On average, participants were 32.05 years old (range=25-49, SD=6.43). The Chinese sample included 5 education levels. There were 37.1% (n=26) of the participants who had an associate s degree (e.g., AA, AS),
28 while 41.4% (n=29) of the participants had a bachelor s degree (e.g., BA, BS), 14.3% (n=10) of the participants had a master s degree (e.g., MA, MS, MBA), 1.4% (n=1) of the participants had a professional degree (e.g., MD, DDS, LLB), and 2.9% (n=2) of the participants had a doctorate degree (e.g., PhD, EdD). Similar to the American sample, the Chinese sample also collected the data of tenure at current organization and tenure at current position/job of participants. The average tenure at the current organization of participants was 5.11 years (SD=5.09). The minimum tenure at the current organization was 2 months, and the maximum one was 26 years. The average tenure at the current position/job was 4.01 years (SD=4.61); the minimum tenure at the current position/job was 2 months, and the maximum one was 26 years. Measurement of Variables In this study, all items were aggregated for each of the nine dimensions (Metacognitive, Cognitive, Motivational, Behavioral, Visualizing Greatness, Empowering We, Communicating for Meaning, Managing oneself, and Care and Recognition). Cultural Intelligence Scale (CQS) The four items of the Metacognitive (ME) dimension (e.g. I am conscious of the cultural knowledge I use when interacting with people with different cultural backgrounds ) earned Cronbach alpha α=.788 in the U.S. sample and α=.924 in the Chinese sample. The six items of the Cognitive (C) dimension (e.g. I know the legal and economic systems of other cultures ) earned Cronbach alpha α=.941 in the U.S. sample and α=.933 in the Chinese sample. The five items of the Motivational (MO) dimension (e.g. I enjoy interacting with people from different cultures ) earned Cronbach alpha
29 α=.878 in the U.S. sample and α=.904 in the Chinese sample. The five items of the Behavioral (B) dimension (e.g. I change my verbal behavior (e.g., accent, tone) when a cross-cultural interaction requires it ) earned Cronbach alpha α=.897 in the U.S. sample and α=.946 in the Chinese sample. Behavioral Leadership Inventory The six items of the Visualizing Greatness (VG) dimension (e.g. Has visions and dreams of what can be ) earned Cronbach alpha α=.942 in the U.S. sample and α=.899 in the Chinese sample. The eight items of the Empowering We (WE) dimension (e.g. Gets people involved in decisions that affect ) earned Cronbach alphas α=.930 in the U.S. sample and α=.930 in the Chinese sample. The six items of the Communicating for Meaning (CM) dimension (e.g. Explains why you is doing what you are doing ) earned Cronbach alphas α=.906 in the U.S. sample and α=.936 in the Chinese sample. The five items of the Managing Oneself (MOS) dimension (e.g. Is a model of persistence and perseverance ) earned Cronbach alphas α=. 882 in the U.S. sample and α=.906 in the Chinese sample. The four items of the Care and Recognition (CR) dimension (e.g. Celebrates victories ) earned Cronbach alphas α=.949 in the U.S. sample and α=.949 in the Chinese sample. The United States Sample In the dimensions of the Cultural Intelligence Scale (CQS), there were two significant relationships between Metacognitive (ME) and Cognitive (C) (r=.71); Metacognitive (ME) and Behavioral (B) (r=.57). Unexpectedly, the data revealed that all dimensions of the Behavioral Leadership Inventory in the United States sample have significant